Blooming
by KNO
Summary: One-shot. Take me back, back to those days when I could still distinguish foe from friend, love and hate. Before I was a tool, before I was a murderer. Before I was too far gone. Rated T for some dark material.


_This is a little dark, so read at your own risk. Some notes at the bottom._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

* * *

When the blood mixes with the water, Tenten thinks it looks like the diffusion of tea.

Once, Hinata invited her to the Hyuga estate for some coming-of-age tea ceremony the heiress had been required to perform. Tenten remembers the silk of the kimonos, how her own cheongsam stuck out like a sore thumb, and the whisper of the _washi_ doors as they opened and shut. It had been a peaceful afternoon.

When she received her cup, Tenten recalls the color swimming into the water, spreading thinly as it slowly turned the liquid a pale red.

Tenten stares at her feet, where the water from her showerhead is pooling with the blood that covers her body. It is transfixing. Her eyes stay focused, her face schooled into its usual impassive mask, absent of emotion.

Slowly, Tenten leans her head back, and her hair spills across her shoulders as the water rids it of the filth.

* * *

Tenten stood in the forest of bamboo, silent, clutching her _kodachi_. She'd been waiting for the better part of a day, and her muscles were humming for some action.

Wait, she told herself. They're not here yet.

A small breath escaped from her nostrils, and it was then that she heard it—carriage wheels. Tenten blinked and disappeared.

* * *

She rhythmically rubs her body down with a towel, and makes a mental note that she will have to bleach her tub (again). She pulls on loose-fitting shorts and her sparring top, planning for the summer heat. During her absence, her air conditioner died. Her landlord would not be able to have it fixed until the following Monday. Tenten would sleep with the windows open tonight.

_It's not so bad_, she thinks as she slides her bedroom window up. _It's a nice night._

She goes to her small living room, quietly assessing her arsenal. She sits before her steel and reaches for her cleaner and a rag.

* * *

They never saw her coming, which was the point. She would hardly be ANBU's most treasured assassin if she couldn't even stay inconspicuous.

She took out the single horseman and the carriage driver first (senbon to the throat, dipped in poison, a fairly quick death). Next, she disabled the guards—there are three of them—two on either side of the carriage, one at the back. They held spears. Tenten moved in range, pushing the spears aside with her arm before grasping the polearm and wrenching it out of the guard's hands. She kicked the first in the gut and slashed down while he was bending over, trying to find his breath. His blood splattered onto her face, coating his own spear.

Tenten turned her attention to the guard at the back, who had been joined by the other from the side. She swung the spear like a bo staff, analyzing their weak points. It takes her less than a minute to have them on the ground (sharp jabs to the knees, groin), the borrowed spear slicing through their spinal cord with a crunch.

Tenten cast the spear aside, and moved towards the carriage. There are whimpers coming from inside. Tenten gripped her _kodachi_ tightly and set her jaw.

* * *

When she finishes, every blade and handle is clean, gleaming as if they have only just been bought. A few were growing blunt—Tenten had paused in her cleaning to sharpen them with her whetstone.

Her house reeks of the cleaner. Tenten considers polishing the weapons with special wood handles but decides against it. She is tired.

She carefully stows each tool in its case or scroll and then mops her living room floor, seeing droplets of blood.

She leaves the floor to dry and rinses out the mop, stowing it mechanically in her hall closet. She walks to her room, pleased by the cool summer breeze that is circulating.

Her forehead creases. There was supposed to be no breeze tonight.

At once, there is a small, palm-sized kunai in her fingers (specially forged by herself just for reasons such as this). She throws as she reaches her doorway. The kunai lands solidly in the wall by the window.

Some of her former teammate's hair falls to the ground, but he seems unconcerned. Tenten wonders why he even permitted her to land such a hit.

"To what do I owe this after-hours visit?" she asks him lightly.

Neji looks at her calmly. "How many this time?"

* * *

Their faces were terrified. That's what she did now. She terrorized—for the sake of duty and a false sense of security.

The youngest were the first to go, clean slashes across their throats. Their cries die on their lips, mid-warble.

There were seven in the carriage—two teenagers (now confirmed dead), two more guards (she slammed their skulls together with enough force for them to crack), the wife, the heir, and the warlord.

The wife screamed, and Tenten winced from the pitch as she drew her _kodachi_ across the woman's face, silencing her forever. The heir attempted to fight her, but Tenten punched him in the nose, grabbing his arms and dislocating them with a sharp pull. The warlord stared in shock at her, and Tenten is almost disappointed—with someone so high on a hit list, she had expected at least a little spirit. Her short sword flashed and there was a thump on the floor of the carriage, the man's head rolling. His blood covered her front.

* * *

Tenten purses her lips. "You know I can't disclose mission details."

The Hyuga sighs, his white eyes disappearing for a moment as he shut them. "You're treading a very thin line."

Tenten considers him from across the room. She feels like he has grown a few inches since she last saw him (is that even possible?). His hair is longer, but still contained in a hair tie. His forehead protector is nowhere to be seen, though the cloth on his forehead still hides the curse he carries. From what she can tell, he is unarmed. Not that that means anything; he is plenty deadly just by himself.

Tenten's nose wrinkles. Had he really come only to speak with her?

His eyes find her again, opening slowly. "Please resign."

Tenten rolls her eyes. He has requested this of her several times, and her answer remains the same. When would he just accept it?

"You know my answer," Tenten reminds him, an eyebrow arching. "Why do you keep asking?"

It is dark here; Tenten had not bothered to switch on the lights. The moon casts Neji in shadow, while she is lit up. This fact makes her nervous.

"Because I'm hoping you'll eventually change your mind," Neji replies. He is leaning back against the wall, arms crossed, but now he straightens, taking a few steps forward.

Tenten automatically tenses, not because she perceives him as a threat, but purely from being seasoned by battle. Even the cat that she sometimes feeds gets a trim off the top if it startles her badly enough.

Neji holds his hands up slightly, showing her his intentions are not for harm. Tenten bends her knees anyway, ready.

She hears him sigh softly in disappointment.

"Tenten. Stop this. You've worried Lee and Guy-sensei to sickness."

Tenten dismisses his words as soon as they connect in her brain. She will not be dealing in emotional pleas tonight.

"This was my choice. You and Lee could have come with me if you had wished to," she says.

Neji takes a few more steps, only an arms-length from her now. "You know that wasn't possible."

Tenten scoffs. "Anything is possible."

Neji mulls this over for a second. "You never told me why you left. What was the real reason?"

Tenten shakes her head.

* * *

She flew through the bamboo grove, moving steadily back to base. Her body was still dripping blood, staining plant shoots as she passed by. But that was not her concern at the moment—she had a deadline to meet.

Tenten recalled the warlord's wife and her scream. She grimly smiled. Mission accomplished.

* * *

"I told you the real reason."

Neji doesn't believe her. She can tell in how he stands, how he's running his eyes over her face, dissecting everything from her stance to the hardening of her muscles to the look of death in her eyes. He reaches forward and brushes his fingertips against her cheekbone.

Tenten swats his hand away and suddenly they are sparring again, breathless, as they dance around her room, blocking and jabbing and punching.

He has gotten quicker since she last dueled with him. Her head falls back to hit the wall, and she feels the _tenketsu_ in her arms close. She growls at him, angry as he pins her to the wall. She attempts to sweep his legs out from under him, but Neji's stance is too firm, and he is too close for her to succeed, his chest pressing against her.

She leans her head back to view him. He is so close, and it scares her a little, being in such proximity to her old teammate. He has never been one for intimate contact, and this is almost sensory overload for her.

"Tell me the truth," he whispers, the inheritance of the Hygua boring into her brown eyes.

Tenten spits in his face and Neji, though he does not release his grip on her, treats her to a glare he hasn't used on her in ages. It almost brings a smile to her mouth. Almost.

The thought flees from her mind as he bends down to kiss her. She feels her body slacken in response, wishing she could move her arms so she could pull him closer. Or did she want to push him away?

And then he is by the window again, no doubt his means of entry. The moonlight spills across his front as he turns to look at her. Tenten's energy is gone. She slips down onto the floor, looking up at him.

"Suit yourself," he says, before climbing out. Tenten thinks she hears him for the next few minutes as he takes to the rooftops of Konoha, but she knows she's imagining it. Neji has always been silent.

* * *

The next day she is summoned to ANBU headquarters, her single bag already packed and resting on her back. She anticipates another mission, and she is already itching to leave again. She dislikes dwelling in Konoha for more than a few days now—too many memories, too many attachments. All Tenten wants is distance and steel.

The mission details are read to her unceremoniously, but it is when her leader pauses before the last line that Tenten's suspicion immediately heightens.

"You will complete this mission in a pair." Her leader gestures behind her, and Tenten's eyebrows pull together beneath her mask. She hadn't heard anyone enter. She looks over her shoulder to the entryway.

Even with the standard uniform in place, he cuts a very obvious form. She would know those hands, that height, that hair anywhere. She nods silently and he returns the gesture.

"So be it."

* * *

They travel until night falls, not a word falling between them. When they stop and make camp in a forest with tall grass, Tenten watches as he slips off his mask. She keeps hers on to make a point.

They make no fire, instead eating from their rations.

Tenten sits on the opposite side of camp. This is on purpose as well; she is making a distinction. As the minutes tick by, Tenten finds herself only more infuriated.

He kept his status from her. There was no telling how long he'd been working for ANBU, and it made her angry.

_The closest friends keep the most lies._ Tenten's mouth thins and corrects herself, _But he is no friend of mine._

Neji speaks to her, as if reading her mind. "How long are you planning to go without speaking to me?"

"You did this," Tenten spits. She is on her feet, coming towards him. Her fingers skim the kunai she keeps at her waist. "Why did you request to come on this mission?"

Neji looks up at her calmly. "This was the only way to get my point across. You left me no other option."

Tenten scoffs. "Don't you get it? There's no secret here. I left Team Guy because I wanted to." Tenten shakes her head, raising an eyebrow at him haughtily. "Don't you know? I'm sure you've heard. I am the one they go to, Neji, when they want success. My accuracy speaks for itself."

Neji continues to stare at her from his seated position. His legs are crossed. She wonders absently if he had been attempting to meditate.

"And we were holding you back?" Neji says archly. "Do not place this blame entirely on us. We always wanted you."

She scoffs. "Oh, really? After that day, when you _left_ me to be—" She stops abruptly, hating the hot tears that have sprung to her eyes.

Neji has gotten to his feet. "Tenten, there was no other way," he says in a quiet tone she's never heard from him before. "If there had been any other option I would have done it. We didn't want to leave you."

Tenten has taken her mask off to run a hand over her face. She feels grimy and warm, her blood still bubbling from their conversation.

Neji nears and crouches beside her. He raises his hand to touch her shoulder, but Tenten flinches away. "Don't touch me," she hisses. "You've done enough damage."

She refuses to look at his face as she stands and wades through the tall grass. When she lies down, she disappears altogether to the naked eye.

Neji rolls onto his knees and presses his forehead to the dirt. His hand forms a fist as he punches the ground over and over again.

* * *

Their mission is a success, as is expected. Thankfully, they split up to take down their assignment—Tenten to the crime ring leader, Neji to his loyal followers. It is a clean slaughter, and there are no unnecessary casualties.

Because of the nature of their mission, they leave the town immediately after completion, even though the moon is long past its peak. They quietly decide to take a room in the next town over.

It is only after Tenten rigs a few traps around the room that she takes her mask off. Neji has already removed his, being that he booked the room. He sits on the edge of his bedroll, waiting for her to relax, for the tension to leave her. It doesn't.

She wordlessly goes into the washroom and runs the water in the shower. She slides the door shut.

Neji has already cleaned himself. His wet hair brushes his cheek as he cradles his head in his hands. He has no idea what to do. Embarrassingly, he wishes Lee were present. Surely the man's enthusiasm and positivity would have some solution. Neji shakes his head. He can do nothing. He was consenting to what they did to her as much as the people that committed the action. He grips the roots of his hair. _But there had been no other way!_

That has always been his greatest flaw—an obsession to bring the mission to completion, always, without fail. And now his mistake had changed everything and had stripped him of his best friend, his teammate, his first love. He had ruined her, probably beyond repair.

Tenten slips out of the washroom in civilian clothes, her hair down and dripping. It has been so long since he has seen her like this. He thinks to himself that even in her vulnerability, her eyes still dart around, searching for a threat that she expects to come.

A question pushes to his mouth. "How much did it hurt you to release the _tenketsu_?"

She winces at the sound of his voice. She doesn't look at him as she says, "I channeled my _chakra_ like you taught me to."

"It still hurts, yes?"

Tenten does not reply. Though Neji had long ago taught her how to send her _chakra_ to release blocked _tenketsu_, it was never as effective as Neji releasing it himself. The action drained her quickly of energy, and she was never as effective until after Neji fixed it.

"Come here," Neji says.

He doesn't expect her to listen to him, but when she sits in front of him, her expression schooled into tired detachment, Neji exhales a little in surprise. "It will hurt a little."

Tenten nods once.

Neji shifts his eyes to her right arm and begins to relieve her of the pain. His fingers, always deft and quick, are slow and patient as they massage her skin. She exhales heavily at the release of the blocked passage. Neji moves closer to her to deal with her left arm. Since Tenten is right-handed, the blockage in her left arm is thicker, and Neji has to apply more pressure.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Tenten biting her lip in pain. When the _tenketsu_ is finally unblocked, Tenten lets out a sharp cry of relief. She presses her forehead into his shoulder, breathing heavily from the rush of _chakra_ that floods her system. He feels her body relax some and he moves his hand up her arm to rest on her neck.

They sit in silence for a long while before Tenten pulls away from him. Her eyes are rimmed red.

Neji feels his heart clench at the expression on her face. He places his hands on her knees. "Don't go," he says.

Tenten closes her eyes, and Neji can tell that she is trying to even out her breathing. "You have no idea what they did to me."

Neji has a better idea than what she thinks. Tsunade-sama gave their team a full report while Tenten had been lying in her hospital bed, unconscious. But it is true—he cannot even begin to imagine what Tenten has been through.

"I can never atone for what I allowed to happen to you," Neji murmurs.

Tenten does not respond. She lies down on the floor, her eyes blank. A moment passes and Neji reclines across from her, tentatively slipping an arm over her hip to rest on her spine. He pulls her close and tries to bring her back from the brink of sanity.

* * *

They arrive back to their village the next evening. Their first stop is to report to Tsunade-sama. The woman analyzes them for a full minute in silence before she waves them away in dismissal.

The former teammates then report to ANBU's leader. When they both present their masks in resignation, he says nothing.

They walk, hand-in-hand, to the mind reader's residence. She listens carefully to Neji's explanation, her blue eyes watching Tenten curiously.

At the end of his speech, Yamanaka says, "It will be very difficult to work through this."

"I know," Tenten whispers. "But I need your help."

Willingly, the blonde agrees.

That night, in her apartment, Neji tells her he loves her. Tenten nods in acceptance.

* * *

**A/N: I know I didn't come out explicitly and say it, but basically what happened was that Tenten was left behind to be tortured on a high-profile mission. The rest should be somewhat self-explanatory.**

**What did you think? Let me know!**


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